It is often necessary to the therapy and comfort of a patient confined to bed for extended periods of time to bodily position the patient using various supporting and positioning devices usually such as pillows. When pillows are used, nurses spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about proper positioning, especially of older patients, and must spend additional time checking on the patient to make sure that the pillows haven't collapsed due to the patient moving.
In an attempt to provide better body positioning devices, foam rubber padding has been used to support the limbs of hospitalized patients such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,656 wherein a lower limb is supported above the bed surface to prevent the formation of bed ulcers or bed sores on the heel which often result when the heel is allowed to contact the bed surface for prolonged periods of time. However, while such a device may be effective to support the patient's foot above the bed surface, such a device does not add support to the foot itself, nor does it provide for proper containment and support for the leg, ankle, and foot portions as a unit.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and positioning the lower leg and foot of a patient when lying on the side during prolonged periods of bed rest.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and positioning the lower leg, ankle, and foot of a patient as a unit while the patient is lying on his side.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and positioning a leg of a patient which will enable the patient to be positioned in a stable manner.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for positioning and supporting the lower leg portion in a manner which is simple and requires very little time.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a device for supporting and positioning the lower leg portion of a bed patient in a permanent manner so as to eliminate the inordinate amount of time a nurse spends checking on the bed patient and in re-positioning the patient on the bed.